


Something Better Comes Along

by armlessphelan



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-29
Updated: 2013-06-19
Packaged: 2017-12-13 07:51:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/821825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armlessphelan/pseuds/armlessphelan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott has had a busy summer. He broke up with Allison, worked his butt off at summer school, and started seeing Danny. Then summer came to an end and so did everything good about his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"You're dating Danny? As in our lacrosse teammate Danny? The guy who is Jackson's best friend and is, you know, a guy? The kind with a penis?" Stiles breathed heavily as he kept pace, but managed to scratch his head and stare at Scott without tripping. "I mean, I know people can change over the summer. I grew my hair out at that summer camp dad sent me to, but summer school made you gay and you didn't tell me!"

"I'm not gay. And I'm telling you now," Scott replied with a shrug as he leapt over an empty garbage can that had fallen over on the sidewalk. "Jackson moved to Vermont to get away from Derek's constant attempts to murder him, and Danny needed a friend. We spent a lot of time together. It's no big deal."

"It is a big deal, Scott. Friends don't suck each other's dicks. Unless you and I have been doing this all wrong," Stiles noted with a serious lack of couth.

"Could you please not put that image in my head? I like not shooting myself in the face," Scott asked as he shuddered. He made a point of looking ahead instead of at his best friend. "Besides, I thought you liked Danny."

"Everyone likes Danny, I'm just shocked that you 'like him' like him. Does Allison know?"

"I haven't heard from Allison all summer: I didn't want to push things. The most contact we had was me including her in a mass 'Happy Fourth of July' text and getting a smiley face emoticon back in return.” Using the back of his hand, Scott wiped the sweat from his forehead and flung it on the ground. Stiles was running in place even though Scott had stopped, and the wolf found it somewhat annoying but didn't say anything. “I mean, how am I supposed to take that?”

“I think it means you should talk to her before she comes to school tomorrow and finds you and Danny snogging at your locker,” Stiles advised as he stopped running and began doing squats on the sidewalk.

“Snogging?” Scott had no idea what the word meant. He started running again, and Stiles fell in sync with him. They passed by Lydia's house and Scott noticed that Stiles didn't even so much as blink in its direction.

“You know: kissing. Making out. Groping. Surely you've read a Harry Potter book. Or watched Dr. Who. Anything British?” Stiles added. He looked indignant when Scott shook his head in the negative, and Scott took it as a cue to smile. “How are you and I even friends?”

“Because nobody else will deal with your hyperactive ass and I'm the worst socialist in existence?” Scott offered as they turned the corner and ran onto another street. This one was lined with identical houses full of the nouveau riche.

“I don't think you know what a socialist is,” Stiles commented thoughtfully. “Then again, neither does cable news, so I can't judge you too harshly.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Scott wondered as he waved to a woman mowing her lawn. She ignored him. “Why are we running in this neighbourhood again?”

“Because these people actually pay their taxes, so the roads and sidewalks aren't full of holes and cracks. Unlike your house in the Beacon Hills ghetto?” Stiles guessed with a laugh. “Let's be honest, Beacon Hills likes segregation.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, my flaming homosexual of a best friend,” Stiles said dismissively to Scott. “We should probably get back to my jeep before someone has it towed off for clashing with their mailbox.”

“I'm not gay!” Scott shouted after Stiles as he stopped to wipe the sweat from his face with his shirt. “And I'm not flaming. Am I?”

Stiles just laughed, and Scott debated whether or not to use his wolf speed to leave Stiles eating his dust.

When they reached Stiles jeep, Scott was notably not as out of breath as his friend. Nonetheless, Stiles continued to talk as though he would die if he didn't. “So, you actually passed summer school and are joining us as a Junior?” Stiles asked. “I mean, you had a lot of incomplete grades at the end of last year.”

“Yeah. Turns out when Jackson goes away and Derek stops harassing me and the hunters disappear for a few months of training in wherever the Argents went... I had a lot of free time I didn't have before. And Danny is a great tutor,” Scott explained as he pulled his shirt off and climbed into Stiles' jeep. “Can you turn the AC on? I'm dying here.”

“I just want you to know that this attempt to seduce is kind of an epic fail,” Stiles snorted as he buckled up and started the vehicle. “Also, is dating your tutor kosher? Or is that some kind of unethical educator thing?”

“He's not my tutor. Danny just helped me out a lot with summer school. The school gives him a summer job of coming in and reformatting the computers and other techie stuff. He tried to tell me a couple times, but it might as well have been Latin.”

“Well, at least you're pretty,” Stiles said with a wink.

Scott was glad his best friend was comfortable around him after the whole coming out thing. Not that it was much of a thing. Even his mother had been fine with it and insisted Scott bring Danny home for dinner sometime, though Scott didn't think he and Danny were quite that serious just yet.

“So, when you decide to stop being half-naked, what are we doing next? I kind of have plans later,” Stiles told Scott as he stopped at a stop sign. “And these plans don't exactly involve being covered in sweat and reeking of B.O.”

“You have plans? Since when do you have plans?” Scott teased as he put his shirt back on. The air conditioning had made it colder than he was expecting and it took a few seconds to adjust. “And I need to stop at the grocery store. Think you can drop me off at Allison's after?”

“You told me you didn't have any money,” Stiles said as he looked at Scott out of the corner of his eyes. “You don't get paid until Friday...”

“Mom gave me the EBT card. I figure I'll buy some chocolates for Allison. You know, I can sit down with her and tell her about Danny and stuff. And the chocolates will make her not hate me. I hope.”

“Dude, you are so buying me chips. I'm starving.”

TW

As he walked up the driveway of the Argent household, Scott caught the scent of Wolfsbane. It was no more than he was used to from before, nowhere near enough to actually hurt him, but it was the first reminder in a long time that he wasn't normal. He turned and waved goodbye to Stiles as the jeep pulled away from the curb.

Scott really hoped he wasn't making a huge mistake. It wasn't like it was a rare occurrence or anything.

About three halfhearted knocks and ten seconds later, Scott found himself looking up at an unimpressed Chris Argent. Scott couldn't smell anything like hate or anger coming from the man, but he could easily see the annoyance on his face. He let himself relax, certain there was no immediate danger.

“Hello, Scott. It was only a matter of time before you stopped by,” Mr. Argent sighed in defeat as he gave the teen the once over. “Allison is up in her room. Leave the door open.”

It wasn't a request.

As he walked past his ex-girlfriend's father and into the foyer, Scott noticed several cardboard boxes packed up and sitting by the door. It was as though someone were moving in. Or moving out.

With a shudder he hoped nobody saw, Scott passed Gerard's things and walked up the stairs. His legs felt heavier with each step. Everything in him wanted to turn around and run out of the house: book it past Mr. Argent, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with crossed arms, and never look back. Luckily, Scott's will was a lot stronger than his fear.

Before he even realized it, Scott was standing outside of Allison's bedroom with a hand poised to knock. He choked down his misgivings and rapped on the hollow wood, regretting it each time his knuckles connected.

“Coming!” she called cheerfully. Scott couldn't remember the last time he heard Allison's happy voice, but he was certain it was sometime before her mom died. The last thing he wanted to do was take away her happiness.

Beaming, Allison opened her door. When she saw Scott, the smile fell from her face. However, her lips did twitch into a grin for half a second when she saw the box of chocolates in his hand.

“Hey,” she said quietly in a distant but not unfriendly voice. Even though she tried to hide it, Scott could easily hear the pain behind her words. “I guess you heard we're back.”

“Lydia mentioned it last week,” Scott confessed nervously. “I wasn't sure if I should come by or not.”

“Oh? I didn't know you and Lydia were on speaking terms, after all that stuff with Jackson.” Allison was clearly not wanting to address the span of time between Scott learning she was home and when he showed up to see her. He was more than happy to oblige. As far as he was concerned, it was a good thing.

“Some things changed while you were gone,” Scott told her in an unnaturally even voice. “I'm sure Lydia told you that Jackson moved.”

“We knew. Dad has people on him.”

“Does he have people on me?” Scott wondered.

“He doesn't think he'll need them,” Allison said in a non-answer. “You cut your hair.”

With the change of subject, Allison stepped back and motioned Scott into her room. He did so reluctantly, and she closed the door behind him. Allison leaned against it and looked at Scott, taking the sight of him in.

“You dad said to leave it open,” Scott warned to he pointed at the door.

“He can bite me,” Allison replied without a hint of anger or malice. “I missed you. I wanted to see you so bad, but it wasn't a good idea. It still isn't a good idea.”

“I missed you, too,” Scott agreed as he put the box of chocolates on Allison's dresser. Her eyes lingered on them for a few seconds before she looked back at him. “And I agree, this isn't a good idea, but I felt you needed, no, you deserved to know.”

“Know what?” she inquired. Scott didn't answer right away, and Allison repeated herself in a strained voice. “Scott, what do I need to know?”

“I'm seeing someone else.”

They both pretended not to notice the tears welling in her eyes. “Oh,” she whispered. Scott was certain she knew that he could hear her, because she continued in a whisper. “Do I know her?”

Scott bit his bottom lip and wondered how to tell her. It wasn't everyday you came out to your ex-girlfriend. He debated whether to do the big speech or throw himself out the window and hope the fall killed him. He would never do the latter, though. Not after what happened with Allison's mom. He still loved her too much for that.

“Danny.”

Laughing awkwardly, Allison stepped away from her door and walked towards Scott. Then she passed him and stood at her window. Scott couldn't tell if she was looking for something outside or if she was looking away from him.

“Danny Mahealani,” he clarified to her back. She stopped laughing. “You know him, right?”

“We weren't close friends or anything, but yeah. I know Danny,” Allison answered without turning around. “I also remember that you were straight when I left for the summer.”

“Things happened,” was all he could say. His mind raced with dozens of half-coherent explanations that he'd never voice aloud. “It was a dull summer otherwise.”

“Dull. Right.” Allison's voice dripped with sarcasm. “Are you happy?”

Scott wanted to tell Allison that he was happy with Danny, but that he'd never been happier than he was when he was with her. And even though it was the truth, his mouth wouldn't form the words. So, instead, he just said, “Yes.”

“Does he know?”

“Know what?” Scott asked, slightly confused. “Everyone knows we broke up?”

Allison laughed again, and she finally turned back to Scott with a genuine smile. “No, does he know that once a month you become a raging beast?”

“No, he doesn't know about the wolf thing,” Scott admitted. “That's a hard thing to talk about. I mean, I never even came out to you about it. Your dad kind of tried to kill me and I wolfed out.”

“This is so awkward,” Allison noted as she crossed the distance between them and hugged Scott. They broke apart just as quickly and she wrinkled her nose at him. “You kinda stink.”

“That would be because I was out exercising before coming over. Stiles dropped me off.”

“Thanks for thinking enough of me to let me know you're gay.” Allison smiled.

“Why does everyone assume I'm gay?” Scott groaned loudly. “Bisexuality is a thing, you know.”

“My mistake,” Allison apologized with a grin as she kissed Scott on the cheek. He missed the sensation and wanted to return the gesture, but held firm. “Are we able to be friends?”

“I think we can try,” he said doubtfully. Allison noticed his tone and her smile drooped. “It's gonna be really weird. I still love you.”

“I love you, too, Scott,” Allison admitted as she looked at the floor. “But too much has happened. My mom died, Gerard's body disappeared so he could still be alive out there, Derek and his pack are on the loose...”

Scott shook his head sadly. “I know. I promised I would wait. Give me the word and I'm yours.”

“That's not fair to Danny,” she pointed out sadly. “Scott, we can't be dragging other people into our mess with the intention to hurt them on down the line. It's not fair to you or me, and doubly so for anyone we may become involved with. We bring baggage into the lives of everyone we touch, whether we want to or not.”

“I can't help it if it's true.” It was Scott's turn to turn his back to Allison. He opened her door and saw her father standing in the doorway, glaring angrily. Scott couldn't bring himself to be appropriately afraid. “I'll see you tomorrow, Allison.”

TW

“This is the last time I'm saying it,” Scott warned Danny as he crashed on the Mahealani family sofa. His boyfriend just blinked at him without saying a word. “I'm over coming out to everyone. It's a pain and I don't see why it's their business. Is it my business who Greenberg is jacking off to? No, it's not. So why would he or anyone else care who I have sex with?”

“We're not having sex yet,” Danny reminded Scott as he looked to make sure none of his family members had heard the outburst. When he was satisfied that neither of his parents was going to circle them like a hungry wolf, he settled down beside his boyfriend and reached for his tablet. He fiddled with the setting on one of his apps as he continued talking. “Also, you're never done coming out. Like, every single day of your life you come out to someone new, whether you mean to or not. Someone asks about your girlfriend? Wife? Who that guy is in the picture with you at the baseball game. You know, normal conversations and stuff.”

“Why do they care?” Scott groaned as he stuck his feet on the coffee table. He groaned again when Danny shoved them off.

“Not on the furniture. My mom will kill us.”

“Your mom loves me,” Scott teased with a grin. He reached into the candy dish on the coffee table and began unwrapping a peanut butter cup. Thinking better of it, he offered it to Danny when he had finished removing the foil. “Here, take it and make me feel like less of a crappy boyfriend.”

“We're boyfriends now?” Danny raised a quizzical but amused eyebrow as he took the chocolate and popped it into his mouth. “You think we're that serious, McCall?”

“We have been dating a month. And I have dinner at your house on the days my mom works night shift...” Scott counted off the reasons before Danny grabbed his hands and smiled. There was chocolate smudged on the corner of his mouth.

“I was kidding, loser,” Danny admitted as he let Scott go and reached for another piece of candy. He fished out some licorice and peeled off the plastic before taking a bite. “We can use the word 'boyfriend' if you want. I'm fond of it myself.”

“I told Allison.”

Scott watched as Danny stopped chewing his licorice mid-bite and put the remainder of it down on the screen of his tablet. “Oh. That had to be fun. Stuff like that is why I'm glad I came out in junior high when everyone else was looking at Playboys. No offence.”

“Am I supposed to be offended?” Scott was confused. Even though he was dating, and occasionally making out with, one of the hottest guys on the lacrosse team, he still had a stack of Playboys hidden in the vent under his bed. It's not like Beacon Hills really needed to use the furnace all that often. And his mom refused to let him use the air conditioner because it was too expensive.

“No.” Danny ran one hand through Scott's hair as he picked his licorice up with the other. “How did she take it? She was your great first love and all.”

It was cute how nervous Danny was. Scott didn't want to tell him everything that was said, or how much he regretted some of the things he had told Allison. He'd told her things he didn't want to admit to himself. Repression was never a good thing, but the worried look on Danny's face made Scott squash it. He reached out and caress Danny. Using his thumb, he wiped the chocolate off Danny. Scott then smiled and licked it clean before answering.

“She wants to try to be friends. She also thought I was gay. So did Stiles. That's going to happen a lot, isn't it?”

“Straight people don't get being bi. Neither do most of the gays,” Danny shrugged as he stared at Scott's mouth. “So, I take it things went better with Stiles than Allison?”

“That they did,” Scott agreed. He picked Danny's tablet up and put his head in his lap. Looking up, Scott decided that watching his boyfriend eat was nowhere near as sexy from the new angle as it was from the old one. He kicked off his shoes and stretched out on the sofa. “I really don't feel like going home.”

“You really should, though. I mean, you do know you stink, right?” Danny noted as kindly as he could. “Also, I can't have boys stay here past nine.”

Scott rolled his eyes and sighed. “I ran over here from Allison's and it's only seven thirty.”

“I wasn't telling you to leave now,” Danny snorted before finishing his licorice. He played with Scott's hair as Scott scrolled through the music library on Danny's tablet.

“There's a lot of Lady Gaga here. Like, demos of stuff from when she used her old name. Is there something you're not telling me?” Scott asked with a grin as he skipped to the next album. “Um, what is The Longest Journey and why do you have its soundtrack?”

“It's a computer game and I like the music,” Danny answered simply as he snatched the tablet from Scott's grasp and played a random track. “And everyone likes Gaga. Douche.”

“Greenberg doesn't like Gaga.”

“Greenberg is a dick.”

Deciding he was done needling Danny, Scott closed his eyes and debated whether or not he wanted take a quick nap. Allison's face lingered behind his eyelids. He pushed her away and reached up to feel Danny's arm. Even though he had told her he would wait, he moved on. And he told her he would walk away from Danny if she asked, but now he wasn't sure what he would do if he had to choose.

Scott loved Allison. He doubted that he would ever stop. But he supposed he needed the reminder of why he was with Danny to begin with. It had nothing to do with the muscles or the dimples, because a few months ago Scott didn't even know he'd like them as much as he did now. Danny was comfortable. He was like that warm blanket you crawled under during a cold snap. There was no fire, no passion, but there was pleasantness and warmth and Danny was sweet enough. It was nice to have someone he didn't have to tiptoe around over issues beyond his control.

“Danny?” Scott whispered as he kept his eyes closed. He felt the leg he was resting his head on shift as Danny leaned down to better hear him. “You know what a werewolf is, right?”


	2. Chapter 2

Stiles was unusually silent as Scott locked his bicycle in place. It was likely due to the shock.

“If you're going to to just stare, could you at least close your mouth?” Scott asked Stiles as he readjusted his backpack.

“Dude, you just told me Danny knows about the werewolf thing and that he had an epic freakout and threw you out of his house. So forgive me if I'm worried about you. I mean, what if he outs you to everyone? Can you say Area 51?”

“I'm not an alien, Stiles,” Scott scoffed as they walked into the school. They stopped just outside the doors and let other students pass them. “You don't think Danny would do that to me, do you? I mean, Jackson is kind of his best friend and I told him about Jackson, too.”

“Were you stupid enough to mention me, McCall?” a third voice inquired as he slipped up beside the duo. Stiles jumped a bit in response to Isaac's sudden arrival. “Why are you even talking to civilians about us? Isn't he bad enough?”

Isaac jerked his thumb in Stiles' direction.

“No, I didn't talk about you. I didn't even know you were back,” Scott answered gruffly. “So you can calm down. Where were you?”

“Derek had us spending the summer looking for Boyd and Erica. We never found them.” Isaac opened the door to let some other students into the building. He never took his eyes off Scott. “Now, would you please tell me why you thought it was a good idea to tell Danny all about us?”

“Because we're dating?” Scott's voice was full of confrontation. He almost wanted Isaac to say something so he could have someone to take his frustration out on that could take it.

In response to the revelation, Isaac just raised his eyebrows. He cocked his head and stuck out his chin before nodding. “Whatever makes you happy, I guess. I thought Danny had better taste, though.” The wide grin plastered on his face was the best evidence that he was joking.

Scott told Isaac to shut up and forced his way past him and into the building. Even though he was expecting it, nobody was staring at him. They all just ignored him and showed off new outfits they got from back-to-school sales or talked about what extra-curricular activities they were pursuing.

Following behind him, Stiles and Isaac were carrying on a conversation about how Isaac was able to go to school even though he was technically a runaway and had no legal guardian. He tuned it out and just headed to the locker he'd been assigned when his mom took him in to pay his school fees.

Three lockers down from his own, Scott saw Danny taping a pinup of some superhero. Some green guy with a fin. He looked familiar, but Scott couldn't remember his name.

“Hey,” Danny said to Scott over the din. “Probably should've expected this, our names being so close in the alphabet and all.”

“Yeah,” Scott nodded as he pulled out the slip of paper that had his combination on it. There was really nothing he could say. Danny held all the cards.

“I'm sorry about last night.” Danny shut his locker and walked the two steps to Scott. “That's something really big you showed me...”

Someone started snickering and Scott turned around to see Isaac standing on the other side of the hallway listening in on the conversation. Clearly, Danny didn't notice him. Turning back to Danny, Scott fought the urge to make a dirty joke.

“We're cool?” Scott asked as he opened his locker. A piece of paper fell out and hit the floor. Danny snatched it and shoved it in his pocket. Scott raised his eyebrows at him in response.

“It was a note I left in case I didn't see you this morning,” Danny explained. When Scott asked how Danny knew it was his locker, he got a whistle and a non-answer. “We all have our secrets.”

“Did you hack into the school records for me?” Scott found it a simultaneously cute and creepy gesture. It wasn't easy to reconcile, and Danny just smiled. “You didn't answer me.”

“I'm trying to be cool. I mean, it does explain a lot about last year. You're still a dork, but you're a dork who became an amazing lacrosse player overnight.” Danny played with the door to Scott's locker as he watched Scott pull notebooks and binders out of his backpack. “It's just, this is a whole different ballgame.”

“That is a very homoerotic sentence,” Scott pointed out in a lewd voice as he put a hand on Danny's chest. He could feel Danny's heartbeat accelerate, but the other teen didn't move away. Withdrawing his hand, Scott apologized. “Um, it's probably too soon for things like that.”

Danny didn't answer Scott. He just stood there awkwardly until a girl forced him to move so she could get into her locker. He smiled at Scott, did a small salute, and then walked away.

It wasn't even ten seconds before Isaac was whispering in Scott's ear. “That has to hurt. If I were into dudes I'd totally be into you.”

“Shut up,” Scott ordered as he slammed his locker shut and pulled out his schedule. He unfolded it to see what his first class would be: Chemistry. “Where are you headed?”

“Same as you. Stiles told me he opted for Physics this year,” Isaac mused as he leaned over Scott's shoulder and held their schedules side by side for comparison. “Hey, we have four classes and lunch together. Isn't that awesome?”

“Downright groovy,” Scott muttered sarcastically. His mood was not one suited for socialization and he hoped Isaac would pick up on it. He had a feeling Isaac knew and just didn't care, though.

“Stick with me, kid, and everything will be smooth sailing,” Isaac told Scott as he threw an arm around his shoulder and started walking him in the direction of the classroom. “Your grades will probably be in the toilet and you won't have any friends, but you'll have fun.”

“I'm kind of already there,” Scott noted as they passed Allison in the hall. Both exes made sure to avoid looking at each other.

“Minus the fun part,” Isaac observed as he watched Allison walk away. “Hey, I'll catch up with you.”

“Class starts in five minutes,” Scott called after Isaac as he watched the tall blond boy run after Allison. Whatever Isaac was thinking of doing, Scott wanted no part of it.

TW

“We only have lunch and gym together. How is that possible?” Stiles asked Scott asked they made their way through the lunch line. “Like, seriously. Not even a study hall?”

“You're the one taking college level courses while I'm withering away in AP classes,” Scott pointed out. “Those exams saved your ass.”

“It's a new year, Scott. You have the whole wolf thing under control for the most part, Jackson is gone, and I don't think the Argents are hunting you anymore.” Stiles handed his money over to the cashier and Scott flashed his free lunch card. They scoped out the available tables and saw Allison waving at them.

Scott looked at Stiles and shrugged. If he and Allison were going to try the friend thing, blowing her off wouldn't be a very good start. Weaving his way through the heavy traffic of the lunchroom, Scott sat across from Allison. Isaac was on one side of her, and Lydia on the other. Lydia didn't look particularly happy about it, though. Stiles sat across from Isaac, not even bothering to acknowledge Lydia.

“So, is this the cool table?” Stiles wondered nervously as his eyes darted amongst all of the people seated.

“Clearly it's not,” Lydia scoffed as she stared at her food. “This time last year everyone looked up to me and wanted to be me. Now? I'm the crazy girl with the loser friends. No offence.”

“None taken,” Allison shrugged. Everyone was used to Lydia's bluntness. After taking a drink from her milk carton, Allison looked around the cafeteria. “I thought all the Juniors had lunch this period.”

“We're having issues,” Scott told her. It was obvious what she was talking about, and he didn't feel comfortable talking about it with her. Not after the things he'd said the night prior.

“Oh.” Allison shut down and used her spoon to play with her applesauce. Stiles and Scott were both quiet as well.

“Am I missing something here?” Lydia looked at her seatmates curiously. “What do you all know that I don't?”

“Scott has a new lover,” Isaac teased as he leaned forward, elbows on the table. “But it's a secret.”

“It's not a secret,” Scott grumbled. It was not a very good day to have the last name of McCall. His mood was getting worse, and it seemed like everyone was doing their best to piss him off. “I just don't feel like talking about it.”

“I don't care who tells me what, just someone tell me something. My social life is dried up and dead and I'll live vicariously through your awkward internet dating if I want to,” Lydia sighed before biting into a carrot. “God, I'm pathetic.”

Someone else sat on Scott's other side, and he recognized the smell before he saw who it was. To be honest, he was more than a little surprised Danny was sitting with him considering how disastrous the morning had gone.

“Lydia,” Danny greeted before biting into a hamburger.

“You know, just because Jackson is gone doesn't mean we're friends,” she shot at him before biting into her carrot again with an angry crunch. “Or are you as pathetic as I am and nobody else wants to be seen with you but the freak parade?”

“Excuse you,” Stiles spoke up. “Why are you being such a bitch? Nobody here has said anything rude to you.”

“Stiles, you don't want...” Allison started before Lydia pulled a tampon out of her jacket pocket and threw it at Stiles' head. It bounced off his cheek and landed in his applesauce. “Well, I guess you got your answer.”

“Now I'm wishing I hadn't asked.” Stiles lifted his applesauce container off his tray and slid it down to an empty part of the table.

“So, what did I interrupt?” Danny asked the group nervously. Everyone but Scott and Lydia stared at him. Scott watched Allison lower her eyes and Lydia observed everyone else's nervous reactions.

“Well damn, you little 'mo,” Lydia grinned at Danny. “You actually did it. You managed to flip one of the straight guys.”

“Lydia, stop it,” Danny warned in a low voice.

“Why? It's true,” Scott told everyone as he stabbed the table with his fork. The plastic tines snapped off and the handle shattered. Stiles put a hand on Scott's shoulder, but he shrugged it off and looked into Allison's eyes. “I mean, that's what this is. I'm a fag and he's the one who converted me then dumped me when he found out I'm a werewolf.”

“Scott, enough with the self-hate. It's annoying and nobody here is judging you,” Isaac asserted with his usual crassness.

“I am,” Lydia announced as she held her hand up, “but then again I judge all of you so whatever.”

Scott laughed coldly. “Oh, this isn't self-hate. I don't hate myself. I hate the lot of you. Can you shut up and talk about something that isn't me for five minutes?”

“Oh god. It's not just Lydia,” Allison crowed as she help up her phone. Scott looked at it and saw that she had pulled up a calendar. It was the night of the full moon and he'd completely forgotten about it.

“Then why aren't I being an absolute PMS case?” Isaac asked Allison as he leaned halfway over the table to look at her phone.

“Because you're always a jerk?” Stiles offered as he sucked milk through his straw. Isaac nodded in agreement.

“So, this is a werewolf thing?” Danny asked quietly.

Allison dropped her phone in shock. As much as he wanted to reach across the table and hold her hand, Scott just tried to make himself as small as was physically possible.

“So, he told you,” Lydia quipped before reaching across the table and grabbing a handful of Danny's french fries. “What? I'm hungry and you won't like me when I'm hungry. I will cut a bitch.”

“You do that when you're full, too,” Allison lamented as she picked up her phone. “So, you know about the werewolf stuff?”

“Some of it. Scott kind of didn't get to tell me everything,” Danny confessed nervously as everyone stared at him. So he looked at Scott. “Hey, do you mind ditching next period? It's the first day so nobody is gonna make us do anything and we kind of need to talk.”

“Why not? I only just barely survived summer school,” Scott shrugged apathetically.

TW

Scott and Danny hung out by the lacrosse field, though Scott reckoned it would be the football field now that it was fall. He really wasn't one for fall sports. Sure, he watched the Superbowl like everyone else in America, but he couldn't be bothered to care about the NFL during the regular season, let alone high school football.

“I think I'm going to try out for cross country this year. I run through the woods all the time anyway, I might as well get a medal for it,” Scott joked as he and Danny walked the track that surrounded it. “Sorry for being such a dick during lunch.”

“Thanks,” Danny accepted with a nervous chuckle. “You really were a dick. They said it's a moon thing? And Isaac is a werewolf, too?”

“So you picked up on that...” Scott nodded as he tried not to notice the girl in the bleachers grunting as she rode her boyfriend. He really hoped Danny couldn't hear her.

“Not just that. You're not ready to come out, are you?” Danny made no attempts to be physical with Scott. He just asked the question and left it in the air. Scot really didn't want to answer it.

“I don't mind people knowing. I just don't like the questions. This just doesn't seem like it should be as big a deal as people make it. Like, I've grown up being the Mexican kid, do I really need to be the bi Mexican kid?”

“I'm the gay Hawaiian kid,” Danny pointed out. “And yours is a lot more common than mine. Well, not the bi thing, but this is California...”

“You're rambling.”

“You interrupted me before I could get a good ramble started,” Danny voiced with a smidgen of disappointment. “I know dating guys isn't easy, even in Beacon Hills. But what is dating a werewolf like?”

“Slightly more dangerous than dating a lacrosse player,” Scott admitted rather casually. There was a rock on the track and he kicked it into the grass on the field. “You do a lot of running, though, so the exercise program is great.”

“Are you seriously joking right now?”

“Danny, some days I need to laugh or I'll go crazy. People have gone after my mother. Stiles is always in danger. And Allison thinks she can take care of herself but more often than not she's in over her head. There's a very good chance you could end up as warped as Lydia. Do you really want to continue this? Because I'll understand if you walk away.”

With a shake of his head, Danny bumped his arm into Scott's. “First of all, Lydia's always been a little twisted. And second, what about Allison?”

“What about her?” Scott asked as he heart skipped a beat.

“Where exactly does she fall into all of this? I mean, did she figure out that you're a werewolf or did you tell her like you told me last night?” Scott could tell from Danny's heartbeat that the question he asked wasn't the one he wanted answered.

“She comes from a family of werewolf hunters, and they know about me. Isaac, too. There's this thing called 'The Code' where they don't kill werewolves who haven't killed humans, but not all of them follow it. Allison does, thankfully. I think.”

“That had to make dating hard.”

“It didn't make it easy. But why are we talking about my ex?” Scott asked even though he knew the answer.

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Danny stopped walking. Scott stopped and turned to him, but looked at the horizon just over his shoulder.

“Because she's not your ex. I'm not stupid, Scott. I need to know that, if I stay here, I'm not wasting my time. Is there a chance at a long term future?”

“Aren't we a little young to talk about marriage and kids?” Scott exclaimed rather loudly. He heard the couple having sex stop and he was sure they were looking at him. “I mean, I'm not even old enough to see an R-rated movie by myself yet.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of prom,” Danny replied with a dejected sigh. “And I'm pretty sure I just got my answer. See ya, Scott.”

TW

Scott was certain he wasn't hungover, because he was certain he couldn't get drunk. But he found himself wearing only his boxers on Allison's living room floor with no idea of how he got there. And if the dawn shining through the windows was any indication, he'd spent the night.

“I'm still alive, so at least Mr. Argent doesn't know I'm here,” Scott said to himself in a pleading voice.

“If only that were true,” Scott heard the older man grunt as he shuffled into the living room wearing a robe and wielding a cup of coffee.

Panicked, Scott tried to stand up and run away but tripped over his own feet and fell onto his backside. Chris Argent just sat in his chair and grabbed his head, trying not to look at the light.

“Mr. Argent, whatever I did, I am so sorry,” Scott begged. He tried his best to blend into the sofa, which was difficult since it was white and he definitely wasn't.

“You aren't the one who was out driving drunk and picked up a kid on the side of the road. I am so glad Allison stayed at Lydia's last night after patrolling.” Shame and regret filled Chris's voice as he refused to look at Scott.

“Where are my clothes?” Scott wondered when he realized he wasn't going to die. “How did I get here?”

“Didn't you here me?!” Chris yelled as he covered his eyes. He winced at the volume of his own voice and his next sentence was much quieter. “Your clothes are upstairs.”

“In Allison's room?” Scott questioned fearfully.

“No.” Chris's answer was quick and to the point, but the followup was delayed and pained. “They're in mine.”

Scott didn't say anything He just stood up and left the room. He couldn't remember what happened the night before, likely because of the moon, but he could put the pieces together that Chris Argent gave him and he really didn't like the picture that was forming. At all.

After dressing, and being unable to find his belt and one sock, Scott slipped out of his ex-girlfriend's father's bedroom and ran down the stairs. He didn't even bother to look at Chris as he dashed out the door. Scott wasn't sure if he was doing the much talked about walk of shame, but he was definitely confused.

He had just enough time to get home and shower and change before the bus came to pick him up.

TW

Scott know what he was doing, and he knew he was doing it for the wrong reasons. When he reached his locker he threw his backpack to the floor and kept walking. Danny had just grabbed his Economics book from his locker when Scott slammed it shut.

“What is your problem? Are you still pissed about yesterday?” Danny asked Scott angrily.

Danny's answer came in the form of Scott wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing him rather violently. Looking out of the corner of his eyes, Danny saw the other people watching them. Not everyone, but enough for it to be uncomfortable.

Pushing away, Danny broke the contact and wiped his lips with his sleeve. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Danny, I want it to be you. I want you to be the one I go to prom with. I want you to be my date to homecoming and the winter formal. Whether it works out or not doesn't matter. Whatever is going on with Allison doesn't matter. You matter.” Scott tried to kiss Danny again, but Danny slipped out of his grasp and dodged it.

“There is a time and a place, Scott. This is neither one. And no speech you stole from a Dawson's Creek rerun is going to change that. If you want to talk, you can wait.”

Danny turned his back to Scott and walked away, doing his best to ignore the people looking at him. Meanwhile, Scott had to deal with Stiles asking him just what was going on.


	3. Chapter 3

The biggest problem Danny had with dating Scott seemed more and more to be Scott himself. When it was just the two of them during the summer things went well. Scott was happy, Danny was making money doing something he loved, and both of them were comfortable with each other.

Then Allison came back and Scott told Danny he was a werewolf and everything changed overnight. Everyone was suddenly being horrible to each other and Scott was acting scary possessive and Danny wanted nothing to do with it. One month of making out and family dinners was not enough of a relationship. Danny couldn't afford to constantly blow off class to deal with someone else's issues.

So, he wondered why he was giving Scott McCall the time of day now when six months before he wouldn't have bothered with more than a passing conversation.

“I'm choosing you,” Scott told Danny as though it meant something.

Danny sighed and crossed his arms. “Am I supposed to be flattered? Because, not to be rude, but you're still hung up on your ex and I'd like to think I'm too good to be anyone's rebound.”

“You're supposed to at least consider it,” Scott pouted. Danny held firm.

People buzzed around them, most ignoring them since it was a reasonably calm discussion. Danny wondered if it would be the same if they were at school and not in line at a coffee house. He had forgotten how often Scott McCall's life became a public spectacle and that was another reason to avoid it.

“All you've done is tell me what you want. What about what I want? Doesn't that matter?” They were next in line and the barista asked their orders. Danny got a black coffee, Scott a cappuccino. Standing back and letting Scott pay, Danny wondered what would even come of this conversation. He had clearly made up his mind that whatever had started was over.

“Here you go,” Scott said to Danny as he handed him his hot mug. They picked a small table by the window. Danny watched the people walk by and wondered when he stopped being one of them. He was pulled from his reverie by Scott clearing his throat. “What do you want, Danny?"

“I want someone that won't make me their second best, the backup choice,” Danny stated clearly. “I won't be with a guy who is constantly thinking about how much he would rather be with someone else. I can deal with your other... 'issues', I think, but even if this is just a dumb high school romance I need to be a priority in it.”

“You will be,” Scott assured Danny earnestly. For half a second, Danny even believed him.

“You're fighting awfully hard for something that barely exists,” Danny told Scott as he finally took a sip of his coffee. It was weak and bitter. He'd probably never order it again. “Why not just let me walk away?”

“Because you're the most normal thing in my life and I actually appreciate that,” Scott observed. It definitely wasn't what Danny expected. “I enjoyed getting to know you: like a normal person would.”

“What did you learn about me?” Danny was finally amused by something Scott was saying, even if cautious of the topic. “What insight can you provide into who I am as a person?”

“You're lonely,” Scott explained as he leaned forward and looked directly into Danny's eyes. “You miss your best friend, because as much as everyone else likes you they don't care. They don't want anything more than a superficial relationship. So you don't know how to deal with things that aren't pleasant and easy. The first sign of a complication: you want to bail.

“When you date someone, you want to go way out of your league. I can relate. I've done it twice now,” Scott smiled, “but when Jackson left, you settled for the first person that came around to be your new best friend. Then you made him your boyfriend without thinking about it.

“You love computers. At any one time, you're building a new one from scratch because you say it's cheaper than buying a new rig online,” Scott stopped to take a drink from his cappuccino. Danny sat in muted silence. “You've always wanted a pet bearded dragon, but your mom hates reptiles and bought you a fish tank for your 10th birthday instead.

“How am I doing?” Scott sounded pleased with himself as he leaned back and broke the eye contact with Danny to look out the window. Danny didn't see anyone he recognized, so he assumed it was a move to break the tension that had built up. It hadn't worked.

“You got all that from one month of dating?”

“I listened when you talked,” Scott shrugged as he ran his index finger along the rim of his coffee cup.

“It doesn't change anything,” Danny confirmed quietly. “We aren't picking up where we left off.”

“What will change it?” Scott remarked in a hurt tone. “What can I do to make this better?”

“You're still in love with Allison, Scott. There's no making it better. It's not something you can fix over a cup of coffee. I don't know what you can do, if there even is anything to do.” Danny took another drink of his bitter coffee, doing his damnedest to avoid looking into Scott's puppy dog eyes.

“So you want me to give up and walk away?” Scott sounded angry. Danny needed him to be angry. It made it easier. “You want me to just give up on us?”

“Scott, there is no 'us'. We've been dating a month. One month. And you're barely out of the closet. You'll be fine. There are plenty of guys and gals out there that won't mind being with a dork with ex issues,” Danny pointed out. He knew he was being unfair and kind of cruel, but it was the nicest way to get through. “It just won't be me.”

With nothing more to say, Scott stood up and left. The half empty cappuccino remained behind: abandoned by its owner. Danny reached across the table and gave it a try. It was much better than the swill he was drinking.

TW

Stiles was sick of comforting Scott, but he did it anyway because he loved him like a brother. When his mom died, Stiles was a wreck for months and Scott was there for him. Stiles hid a lot of things, like the panic attacks, but Scott offered unconditional support regardless. Friends did that kind of thing for each other.

“Maybe you move into these things too fast. I mean, you kind of did the same obsessing thing with Allison that you seem to be doing with Danny. Except you were a lot worse with Allison. Like, I'm surprised she didn't get a restraining order.”

“Are you comparing me to Matt?” Scott was indignant about the suggestion. Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Until you start shooting people and murdering the swim team, I think there's a safe amount of distance between you and Matt,” Stiles mused. If he was super serious every time Scott had an issue he'd be an NPR reporter. “You just need to learn to ease up.”

“The last thing I need to to is ease up,” Scott complained with a shudder. Stiles wanted to ask what was up with that reaction, but something told him that it was a very bad idea. So he asked.

“Dude, what did you do?” Stiles poked Scott's shoulder with a finger to make sure he had his attention. “You're being all weird and cagey which means you really screwed up.”

“Not now, Stiles,” Scott whined. “I would really rather not. Ever.”

“Must've been big,” Stiles snorted.

Scott's eyes got huge and his mouth dropped open. He head turned slowly and he looked at Stiles with a growing smile. “Nothing happened. I would've felt it. Nothing happened! I mean, I don't remember it, but it was still nothing.”

“What are you talking about?”

Scott ignored Stiles and ran out of his bedroom, whooping with excitement. Stiles just rolled his eyes.

TW

Allison was hot. She was walking home from school since she didn't have her car. Her dad had dropped her off the night before, made her promise to stay there even though it was the full moon. He was acting weird, and Allison knew it was because her mother's birthday had passed the week before. They celebrated, no, they observed the occasion by having cake at her grave. It wasn't as comforting as Allison's father had hoped it would be.

Annoyed that her dad wouldn't answer her calls for a ride, Allison wondered why she didn't just ride the bus. There was a stop about a block from her house.

The California sun beat down and Allison kept waiting for the day she would become accustomed to it. It'd been well over six months since she'd moved to Beacon Hills, give or take a couple of months training in some random California forest, and it still seemed like she was going to fry every time she stepped outside.

Dozens of classmates drove by, none offering her a ride, but she wouldn't have accepted anyway. She didn't know most of them. After the whole Matt mess, Allison found it hard to try to get to know the people she went to school with. She supposed that was why she tried so hard to keep the same circle of friends even though they made her life harder than it needed to be.

“Small world,” Allison called out to the guy following her. She turned around and grinned at Isaac. She'd pegged him about three houses back.

He stepped out from behind a trash can someone had set on the curb. “How did you even notice me? I was being all stealthy and such.”

“I have commando training. You have obedience school with Derek,” Allison snorted. She knew it was a lame joke, but most of her jokes were lame. “Now do you want to tell me why you're being a creeper? Does Derek have you tailing me? Because I'm trying to not be angry revenge lady.”

“Actually, I was trying to work up the nerve to see if you wanted to do something this Friday. Sometimes, just sometimes, I forget I'm a super confident, bad ass werewolf.

“Confident or not, stalking isn't cute,” Allison chastised. “Like, I was turned off when Scott did it and Matt was a whole mess.”

“I have neither a camera nor a Kanima,” Isaac exclaimed as he held up his hands and did a turn for Allison. She giggled and he smiled. “If I promise to stop stalking you, will you go to the movies with me this Friday?”

“I pick the movie,” Allison declared with a nod. “No chick flicks, and nothing supernatural. I deal enough with both of those as it is. And you're treating me to food after.”

“You really know how to bankrupt a guy.”

“I like to think I'm worth it,” Allison admitted coyly. “And I won't tell my dad if you don't tell Derek.”

“Deal,” Isaac agreed happily as he stuck his hand out. Allison shook it and then pulled him close and whispered in his ear.

“One other thing: if you ever try to kill my best friend again, Cupid won't be the only one shooting you in the heart with an arrow.” She pulled back and let go of his hand. “I'll pick you up Friday after school.”

TW

All Chris Argent wanted to do was crawl into a bottle and stay there, but his daughter needed him. The last time he'd given into his urges, he made the unforgivable mistake of driving drunk. But it was other, less awful sins that haunted his thoughts. Ones like the teenage boy standing on his doorstep ringing the doorbell.

“Allison isn't home, Scott,” Chris sighed as he opened the front door to shoo the kid away. “Last time I talked to her she mentioned you were still broken up anyway. Just go on home.”

“I'm actually here to see you, Mr. Argent,” the young man beamed excitedly. Chris looked beyond Scott and saw his bike lying in the yard. Did kids today even know what a kickstand was?

“There's nothing for us to talk about,” the old man tried to reason diplomatically. Not caring, Scott forced his way past Chris and into the house.

“Precisely! Isn't that wonderful?”Scott declared. Chris slammed his door shut and looked at Scott crossly. “Nothing happened!”

“I heard you friend Stiles has ADHD. Did you get into his meds?” Chris asked with complete sincerity. He was already way more annoyed than he felt he should be. “You are making absolutely no sense.”

“We didn't have sex,” Scott clarified quietly as he calmed down and shared what his thought was an epiphany. His exuberance settled into nervous fidgeting. Chris looked away at the revelation. “I mean, we didn't. Did we?”

Chris groaned with disdain as he tried not to remember the events of that night. “No, Scott, we did not have sex. I made many mistakes that night, but thankfully statutory rape is not one of them.

“Then what did happen?” Scott sat on the couch, looking very much like a puppy that had just been yelled at for the first time. “I don't remember anything, but there has to be some sort of logical explanation.”

Debating with himself, Chris wondered if he should tell the truth or lie and set Scott's fears at ease in the name of getting him out of the house. He surprised himself and opted for the former even though the last thing he wanted to do was relive the hazy, alcohol-fuelled memories.

“We may not have had sex, Scott, but we came close. Too close for me to be comfortable with you right now.”

“You're never comfortable with me,” Scott argued. Then he looked decidedly at a coaster on the coffee table and rubbed his hands together. “How close?”

“Your clothes were on my bedroom floor.” Chris was reminding himself of details he wanted to forget as much as he was informing Scott. Keeping a safe distance, he walked away from the door and sat in a chair. “That has to be fairly self-explanatory. Even for you.”

Tilting his head as though he didn't understand the veiled insult, Scott looked directly at Chris. His eyes were full of confusion and self-loathing. Chris knew the look well from every time he looked in the mirror since his wife died.

“Why don't I remember any of this? At all?” Scott demanded softly.

“I only remember the parts I want to forget,” Chris sympathized. “I'm assuming it's full moon related. Have you ever blacked out during it before?”

The silence was all the confirmation Chris needed.

“We both made mistakes that night. Mine were far worse than yours, and began long before I picked up a dazed teenager wandering the streets,” Chris said as he inspected his fingernails.

“Shit.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Chris nodded in agreement.

The front door opened and Allison walked in. She was white as a sheet. Scott was at her side before Chris could stand up, but she pushed him away violently.

“Honey?” Chris asked as he rose to his feet.

“What the hell did I just hear?” she yelled at the pair of them as she avoided looking at them both. Chris walked past her and shut the door before the neighbours could hear anything. “Dad, what did you do?”

TW

The last thing Danny needed was a weepy Allison calling and crying to him about the guy he had just dumped. He wasn't even sure how she had gotten his number: probably Lydia. But Scott McCall was not his problem, and Danny hated himself for being too nice of a guy to just hang up on her.

“You can tell me what's wrong,” Danny said into the phone even though he really didn't care. How many times in a day could you wash your hands of someone?

“No, I can't,” Allison cried into Danny's ear. “I don't even know why I called you. This isn't your problem. I don't want to mess things up between you and Scott anymore than I already have.”

“You didn't know we broke up?” Danny was kind of shocked. Beacon Hills loved to gossip. Then again, it wasn't exactly common knowledge he was involved with Scott until the blowup in the hallway. Go figure.

“Oh, god, I so shouldn't be talking to you about this,” Allison whispered into the phone before Danny was met with silence. He looked at the screen and saw that the call had ended. Whatever.

The first week of school was almost over and somehow he'd already managed to be assigned a book report and an 8 page paper on the history of aqueducts in ancient Rome. It was ridiculous: he was in high school, not college.

The doorbell rang, but Danny ignored it. His mom could answer it.

“You have company!” his mom called up a few seconds later.

Danny half-expected it to be Scott begging him to take him back. He was surprised when it was Stiles Stilinski who showed up in the doorway of his bedroom.

“Here to plead Scott's case?” Danny asked derisively. He just wasn't in the mood for anything to do with Scott McCall. As far as Danny was concerned, that ship hadn't just sailed, it had been sunk by a nuclear warhead from a Russian submarine.

“Actually, I came to see how you were. You know things that a lot of people don't know,” Stiles answered as he stood in the doorway nervously. “I supposed I could have called, but it was busy.”

“Allison was on the phone,” was all Danny would say about that.

Stiles looked to the side and rolled his eyes before facing Danny again. “Can we not? That's a whole bag of apples.”

“I think you mean 'can of worms',” Danny corrected as he invited Stiles into his room. “Since Scott and I are kind of nothing right now, what does it even matter if I know about werewolves? It's not like I plan on spending my full moons wandering around in the woods.”

“Actually, you would be surprised how often people actually do that,” Stiles commented as he scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Something about Beacon Hills makes everyone really oblivious to this stuff.”

“Oblivious isn't the word. People like to think the worst, but they swallow any answer given to them,” Danny explained even though he knew the words didn't mesh together the way he wanted. “Denial is probably more accurate.”

“You do not want me to talk to you about denial,” Stiles warned with a laugh. “Trust me.”

“No Scott talk,” Danny reaffirmed loudly. All he got in response was a shrug.

“Whatever you say.” Stiles looked for a place to sit, but since Danny was at his desk the only other place was the bed. Danny nodded his approval. “What questions do you have? I kind of have this tendency to talk on and on and it annoys people because I never get to the point.”

“And when you do get to the point, it's usually framed stupidly.” Danny shoved his homework away and focused his attention on Stiles. “So I know about werewolves. What does that mean? Where do I fit into this whole thing?”

“I don't know.” Stiles shrugged again as he looked around Danny's room. “Half the time, I don't know where I fit into anything. It's probably good you and Scott broke up. You'd be a target.”

“Who would target me?” Danny's mind raced with concerns for his family.

“Probably no one, now. But when you were attacked at The Jungle last year? That was Jackson in kanima mode. You don't have a dog in this fight anymore. No pun intended,” Stiles snorted. “I mean, pretty much everyone that died so far was directly involved in the whole werewolf thing. Except for the folks Matt killed, I guess, but even then...”

“I thought Matt just shot those people in the police station. There were others?” Danny cringed when he remembered that he had once been into a murderer. He really needed to reevaluate his taste in men.

“Yeah. Those murders that started with Isaac's dad? All Matt, using his shiny new kanima. Dude was mad crazy,” Stiles said a little too happily. “Like he even shot Scott in front of his mom. That was messed up.”

“His mom knows?” Danny didn't even care that he was breaking his own “No Scott” rule that he had placed on the conversation.

“Yeah. It was kind of rough. They're cool now. Mostly.”

“Can I ask you something that is probably weird?” Danny asked Stiles.

“My whole life is defined by the word 'weird'.”

Danny sighed and rolled his chair away from the desk. “Am I allowed to miss Scott? Like, we only dated for a month and I just dumped him, but I miss him.”

“It's the puppy dog effect. Scott is like a sweet, dumb little puppy and you just can't bring yourself to hate him even when he pees on your bed,” Stiles nodded sagely. “There's a reason he's my best friend. And it's not his uneven jawline.”

The conversation was not going where Danny wanted it to go, but he was the one who had steered it in the direction it was headed. It was only right he see it through to its conclusion. Or so he tried to convince himself.

“Every since I was 7 years old, I've been Jackson's best friend.”

“I've been Scott's since third grade,” Stiles added. Danny blinked at him slowly before continuing.

“What I mean is, that's how I've always been defined. I'm Jackson's friend. Even though he's gone, that's all I am. Even when I came out, I stayed Jackson's friend. And I've noticed that all of you, except maybe Lydia, but everyone in this werewolf thing is defined by their relationship to Scott. I don't want that to be all that defines me.”

“So you broke up with him because of your issues and blamed Allison?” Stiles asked. The words cut Danny deep.

“Partially. I guess. But Scott is the one who is still in love with Allison. How am I supposed to feel about that? Am I supposed to be happy that I'm just the rebound?”

“You're whining about something that was never a secret. We all knew Scott was on the rebound. But he was happy with you, and from what I heard he made a big deal about it yesterday. So your whole insta-breakup never made sense, even if I did just learn you guys were together,” Stiles noted like a best friend should. “Like, you have issues with Scott, you deal with them. You don't run off and blame him when you don't even try.”

“So it's my fault I don't want to be with someone who would rather be with someone else?”

“Take it from me, whoever you end up with will always want to be with someone else, but he'll always be with you. And for some people, that's a hell of a lot better than being alone.” Stiles cracked his wrists and let out a huge breath neither realized he had been holding. “Now, should be get back to werewolves?” 

TW

Danny really dreaded making the call. Stiles had left an hour prior and Danny sat and stared at his phone. He wanted to know why he hadn't deleted Scott from his contact information like he deleted the dozen or so unread texts Scott had sent.

He was still thinking about calling Scott when the choice was taken from him. The caller ID on Danny's cell showed that it was Scott calling. With an unexpected smile, Danny answered it.

“Hello, Scott,” he chirped into the phone as held it to his ear. Danny hated bluetooth ear pieces. People who used them looked like douches. Sure, they avoided brain cancer, but they were still douches. “What can I do for you?”

“Wow,” the voice on the other end of the conversation sounded surprised, and it made Danny's lips twitch upward into a smile. “I was expecting you to ignore this call like you did all the others. And you don't sound pissed off.”

It took everything Danny had not to laugh into the phone. “Scott, you should know that you have a pretty great best friend.”

“Hold up, you aren't mad at me AND you suddenly like Stiles? This is Danny Mahealani I called and not, like, some Twilight Zone version of him. Right?” Scott sounded perturbed, and, even though part of him actually was still mad, Danny found it cute.

“Scott, I still find Stiles annoying, but he did make me see that I've been massively unfair to you. And that counts for something. So I'm giving you a second chance, Allison issues and all,” Danny's voice became dry as he tried to force out the words. “Sometimes I forget that we're teenagers and that we do stupid things.”

“Danny, do you have a date to Lydia's back-to-school party tomorrow night?” Scott queried in a hopeful voice.

“I would love to, Scott McCall,” Danny grinned at his phone even though Scott couldn't see it. “We just need to hash some things out first, and this time I promise not to dismiss you and walk away.”

“Allison things?” Scott's voice was back to nervous, and Danny was starting to feel the urge to run away from everything again. It would certainly be the easy option.

“Yes. Werewolf stuff, too, because apparently that's sort of super dangerous, but for the sake of clearing everything up where your ex is concerned I should mention that Allison called me crying about something you did.”

“Danny...” was all he heard before the line went dead.


	4. Chapter 4

Dodging a phone call was easy. Dodging an actual human was a lot harder, and Scott McCall thought he had done just that, but somehow Danny found him hiding in the janitor's closet. 

“Stiles told me you were here,” Danny answered before Scott could ask the question. The tall Hawaiian boy stepped into the closet and shut the door, trapping Scott inside. The irony was lost on neither. “Scott, what the hell are you doing?” 

“Trying to avoid this conversation we're having right now,” he admitted simply as he tried to step back and nearly tripped over a mop handle. Scott then decided to stand still. “I really, really don't want to do this.” 

“I knew I was wasting my time. You are an asshole, Scott, and I do not have time to play your games. You have three seconds before I walk away from you for good.” 

Three seconds seemed a lot longer than it really was as Scott's mind raced at the speed of light. 

“I almost slept with Allison's dad the day you and I broke up,” Scott gasped as though he couldn't breathe. He felt like the weight sitting on his chest had been replaced with a thousand white hot needles, but he did everything he could to avoid looking at any part of Danny. “It was the full moon and I was out of my mind. He was drunk. Nothing happened, but we came close. How is that for honesty?” 

Scott crouched and stared at his shoes as he held his hands over his head. Involuntarily, his body shrunk away from the touch of Danny's hand as he reached out to Scott. 

“Please don't tell anyone,” Scott begged quietly. “Stiles doesn't even know.” 

“Then why would you tell me?” Danny was trying his best to hide it, but, with minimal effort, Scott could hear the judgement in his voice. He supposed it was nice his ex-boyfriend was at least trying to not be open about his disapproval of his colossal screw up, but it didn't make him feel any better. 

“Because I actually, legitimately like you. And you don't have to worry about Allison. I'm pretty sure that's never going to happen again.” Scott squeezed his eyes shut and did his best to block the memory of the love of his life his screaming profanities in his face, but he couldn't pull it off. 

“How do you almost sleep with a guy in his forties when you aren't even old enough to smoke?” Danny wasn't playing around. 

The conversation made Scott feel almost as uncomfortable as he was sure Danny looked. He found it impossible to look at anything that wasn't his shoelaces. Whoever said that honesty was the best policy never went to high school. Or had a best friend whose father was in law enforcement. The social ramifications of what would happen if the mess that was Scott's life were nothing compared to the legal ones. 

Not to forget that Scott was a werewolf. It was kind of amazing how that wasn't his top priority. 

“Scott?” Danny's voice was tinged with impatience. 

“How many times do I have to say that I don't remember anything?” the young man whispered angrily as a reply even though he hadn't actually made that claim to the person he was speaking with. “I don't know. All I do know is that I woke up on Allison's living room floor in my underwear and Allison's dad telling me clothes were on his floor. It came out of nowhere.” 

“At least you weren't naked. That's one small mercy,” Danny offered weakly. “We broke up on the full moon, right? So do you not remember a lot of that werewolf stuff?” 

“When I have an anchor, something to ground me, I do. This summer, I kind of haven't. My mom usually locks me in the basement after giving me sleeping pills, but that kind of didn't happen.” Scott scratched the back of his neck as the words he said grew more and more revealing. “This is so screwed up. Do you get why I've been avoiding you?” 

Danny rose to his feet and offered Scott a hand. “Get up. We're late for class and the last thing you need is to start the year off skipping all the time. I can't have you getting grounded this weekend.” 

“So, you still want to go to Lydia's party with me?” Scott looked up at Danny and took the outstretched hand even though he really didn't need it. 

“I would love to go to Lydia's party with you, Scott, but I think a night in sounds better. No exes, no werewolves, no Stiles. Just me getting to know you all over again.” 

“And you're fine with everything I just told you?” Scott knew he was pushing, but he couldn't help himself. 

“I doubt I'll ever be fine with any part of this conversation, but I have to say that you didn't lie to me and that it's a good sign for a clean slate.” 

TW 

Allison dodged Scott. Allison dodged questions about why she was dodging Scott. Lydia groaned and complained about how it was Allison's fault she couldn't even hang out at the loser table anymore. Silently, Allison just sat at an otherwise empty table and listened to Lydia's rambling rants. 

Her every thought, no matter how innocuous, somehow always led back to her father trying to assure her that he hadn't slept with her ex-boyfriend. Scott. As if the drunk driving somehow made it better than her father had gone to second base with someone younger than she was: someone she had had sex with herself. 

“I can't remember, are those two back together or not?” Lydia asked as she threw a french fry at Allison's head. She was pointing off to the side, and Allison followed her finger to see Scott and Danny sitting with Stiles. Everyone looked kind of uncomfortable and Stiles was pointing at his seatmates and bobbing about rather busily. 

“I doubt they can keep it straight themselves,” Allison muttered as Lydia snorted at the unintentional pun. 

Lowering her eyes, Allison focused on her food. She remembered when she was the one constantly breaking up and getting back together with Scott once a week. However, she found that she didn't miss it. Where she used to miss Scott, she just found disgust. 

All she had heard was her father talking about driving while drunk. And when she confronted him about it, in front of her ex-boyfriend, he confessed to almost sleeping with said ex-boyfriend. And Scott didn't refute it. Her reaction was to throw her backpack on the floor and run out of the house. 

But she didn't let herself cry. Instead, she called Isaac and moved their date up. The best way to get over someone was to get under someone else. It didn't matter if her friends thought she had a werewolf fetish. 

Deciding not to dwell on her ex, Allison pulled out her phone and started looking at places to eat that night. She only looked up when Isaac sat beside her. The grin he shot Lydia when she sighed inspired Allison: she leaned in for a quick kiss. It wasn't often she got to surprise someone like that. 

“Um, hello to you, too,” Isaac blinked at her as Lydia's dropped open. 

“It's just a preview of tonight,” Allison promised at she made a point not to look in Scott's direction. “Looking forward to it?” 

“Every boy looks forward to being the rebound relationship,” Lydia snarked as she wrinkled her nose at them. “I swear, you better make sure this one has his shots up to date.” 

“Has she gotten you fixed yet?” Isaac shot back with a laugh. 

For her part, Allison just sat back and smiled as she watched them take swipes at each other. 

TW 

“So, am I chaperoning the big reunion date?” Stiles asked as he threw a ball of wadded up paper into Scott's trashcan. When it went in, he whooped in celebration. 

In reply to the question, Scott shook his head in the negative. “He said he wants a night in. You know, talking and chilling and stuff.” 

“Am I not even allowed to be the third wheel anymore?” Stiles sighed as he threw his head back and looked at the ceiling. “Is it because I'm white?” 

“Shut up,” Scott laughed as he tried to concentrate on his homework. It wasn't going well, because Stiles was the perfect distraction. “I've gotta be over there by six, which means I need to have this done by five thirty and it's already four. Are you gonna help me or not?” 

Stiles put his hands on Scott's shoulders and peered at what he was working on. “Creative writing? Dude, I'm not even in that class. How am I supposed to help you write a whatever it is you're writing?” 

“I need to write an essay on what I'm going to do next summer, since apparently writing about what I did over this last summer is cliched or something. I don't know. I kind of suck at writing, but I needed an elective.” 

“How about you describe turning into a werewolf and ripping out the throats of innocent villagers with your bare teeth and calling it symbolic of the growing pains of being a teenager? The more pretentious you are about it the more writers love it,” Stiles suggested. 

“How about I don't?” Scott slammed his head into his desk in the hopes that it would knock loose an idea. “I mean, I don't even know what I'm doing next week. How am I supposed to know what I'm doing next summer?” 

“The sneaky bastard has you thinking about your future beyond high school without you even thinking about it,” Stiles realized with a snap of his fingers. “This is gonna lead into that college and career stuff now that we're juniors. I just know it. I am so glad you have to take this class and I don't.” 

“You are so helpful,” Scott said with a roll of his eyes. 

“Believe me, I know,” Stiles agreed as he backed away from Scott and sat back on his bed. “I'm like Mother Teresa.” 

“Who?” 

It was Stiles' turn to roll his eyes. “You are the worst Catholic ever. You guys are still Catholic, right?” 

“We kind of stopped going to Mass when my dad left,” Scott answered with an awkward shrug. “I think Mom goes sometimes when things get overwhelming, but I haven't in ages. And I don't miss it. Honestly, my life is busy enough as it is.” 

“But you still believe in some sort of god?” 

“Yes, Mr Atheist, I still believe in God. I'm nonpracticing. Or something like that. I would say I'm a lay person, but I think that's a Protestant thing. I dunno. Religion is weird.” 

“And with that I'm going to remind you that you're dating a boy and we should just drop the subject before we start yelling at each other. We should talk about something more calming, like war in the Middle East or domestic gun control.” 

“What does Danny have to do with my religion? The new Pope doesn't hate gay people,” Scott argued in a confused voice. 

“I said we're dropping it,” Stiles repeated as he pulled out his phone and began loudly playing a rock song. 

TW 

Opening the front door, Danny smiled when he saw Scott standing on his front stoop. He was even wearing a shirt that buttoned up. 

“You look nice,” Danny said as he stood back and let Scott into his house. 

“Thanks. Goodwill had a half off sale on clothes,” Scott replied as he pulled at his new blue shirt. “I thought this one went well with my skin tone.” 

“You sound so gay right now,” Danny laughed as he fingered Scott's collar. He kicked the door shut behind him. “And you're also wrong. Red is much more your colour.” 

“I'll keep that in mind,” Scott nodded as he stared at Danny. “So, you said you want a night in. What are we doing? Netflix?” 

“Yeah. They put Batman Beyond up. The whole series. I figured we could veg out and get our geek on. And we have microwave popcorn ready to make this this as unoriginal as possible.” 

“People watch The Notebook in melodramatic teen dramas, not Saturday Morning Cartoons,” Scott countered before Danny shut him up with a kiss. 

It hadn't even been a full week, but Danny forgot how much he liked kissing Scott when things weren't complicated to hell. He put his hand on the small of Scott's back and Scott responded by pressing Danny against the wall. Then, just as suddenly, they broke apart. 

“My parents are having a date night of their own. They're supposed to be out until nine,” Danny told Scott as he let him go and slipped out of his grasp. “You get the show ready. I'll make the popcorn. What do you want to drink? All we have is milk, orange juice, and store brand ginger ale since my mom is addicted to the stuff.” 

“Um, orange juice, I guess? All we ever get is orange drink. It'll be nice to have the real thing for a change,” Scott answered as he scratched the back of his head and went into the living room. 

Danny threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave and grabbed a large bowl from the cabinet over the sink. All the while, his mind was reeling. Did he want to spoil what looked to be an entertaining evening with talk about Scott's ex and supernatural things or did he want to try to ignore it and enjoy spending time with Scott like he did before? Denial seemed like such a wonderful option. 

He puttered over to the pantry and started looking for the completely unhealthy but totally delicious cheese powder his mom kept in the house at all times for when she watched movies and ate popcorn. He needed something to indulge in. 

The microwave beeped just as Danny found the cheese powder. He grabbed it and shuffled over to the microwave in his socks like a little kid. He pulled out the full bag that was still popping and threw in a second one. When the microwave resumed running, Danny held the finished bag away from his face and pulled it open. Steam billowed from it and Danny quickly dumped the cheese powder into the bag then crinkled it closed and began shaking it. 

“Hey, Danny, did you still want to talk?” Scott asked as he leaned into the doorway of the kitchen. He scratched his chin and stared at the bag of popcorn in Danny's hands longingly. Then he shook his head and looked back at Danny. “You know, about stuff?” 

“Only if you want to,” Danny answered weakly. “I mean, we kind of already know where you stand on the whole ex-girlfriend thing.” 

“I want to be here,” Scott assured Danny as he walked into the kitchen. 

Danny stopped shaking the popcorn and dumped it into the bowl. “I know, Scott.” 

Scott grabbed a few kernels of popcorn and threw them into his mouth. Then he grabbed a few more and held them up to Danny. More than happy to oblige, Danny opened his mouth and let Scott feed him. Then he held Scott's hand in place and sucked the cheese dust off of his fingers. The look of surprise on Scott's face was a much welcomed form of levity. 

“I want you to be here,” Danny grinned as he let go of Scott's hand when the microwave beeped. He grabbed the second bag and repeated the actions he performed with the first one. “Now, tell me about this werewolf stuff.” 

TW 

She had to admit that the boy had good taste. Rather than fight over action movies or chick flicks, Isaac instead treated Allison to the illustrious Beacon Hills community theatre production of My Fair Lady. She didn't even know that Beacon Hills had community theatre. 

The acting was bad and the sets were laughable, but Allison was having fun. Sure, her dad would freak out if he knew she was spending time with Isaac, but the last person she cared about pleasing was her father. So she just leaned into Isaac when he did the yawn and stretch. It may have been a revenge date, but it was a revenge date she was thoroughly enjoying. 

During intermission, Isaac offered to go get her some snacks and a drink. Allison was pleasantly surprised when he actually returned. All those months of Scott disappearing mid-date had skewed her expectations. 

“Thanks,” she said as she took the offered soda. For his part, Isaac jumped over the back of his seat and landed on his butt without spilling anything. When she saw he had a hotdog, she snatched it. 

“Hey, I wanted that,” Isaac whined as Allison prepared to bite into the frank. 

“Sorry,” Allison apologized sheepishly. She handed the hotdog back to Isaac and took a box of malted milk balls from his lap. “Is this one free game?” 

“Help yourself,” he answered with a smile as he took a bite out of the hotdog. “So, is it just me, or has this been fun?” 

“It's been fun,” she agreed as she sat her soda on the floor and tore open the box of candy. “I don't remember the last time I had a night out that was actually somewhat normal.” 

“Really? A night out with graveyard boy is normal?” Isaac teased. “Man, what your life must have been like before coming here.” 

“Lots of people avoid the new girl. Y'all are weird,” Allison laughed as the stage crew began assembling the next set. 

“Y'all?” 

“I spent a few years moving around in the South when I was little. I picked some things up,” she shrugged in response. “I also know how to make biscuits from scratch. And I mean the kind that give you a heart attack after eating two. Southern people are serious about their food.” 

“So you cook?” Isaac sounded intrigued. “After my mom... well, I had to learn how to cook for dad and my brother. I'm not an expert chef, but I know enough to get by.” 

“I'm more of a baker, actually,” Allison confessed as she picked her soda back up. “Nothing too advanced, but I make some mean brownies. As long as I have brownie mix. Ha! The biscuit thing is about all I know.” 

Isaac leaned back into his chair and put his arm around Allison's shoulders. Again. “You know, I think I'd like to try your biscuits sometime. Do we have a neutral third party who'll let us use a kitchen?” 

“Stiles or Lydia, I guess. I don't think I have any other friends. Weird.” 

“That's more than I have. Hell, Derek isn't so much a friend as he is a leader. A really, really bad leader. I think Scott is my only actual friend.” 

“Oh.” Allison said quietly. “Well, that's going to be interesting. Who gets to tell him we're having a second date?” 

“I guess I will, being the man and... Wait, a second date?” Isaac cried out, causing the half-empty theatre crowd to look at them. Allison shrunk a little into her seat, but concentrated on Isaac. “I'll let you pay on the next one. I'm all about equality of the sexes.” 

Allison snorted her approval. 

TW 

“So, do I have to meet this Derek Hale guy or can I skip it?” Danny asked nervously as he leaned back into Scott's chest as they lay on the sofa. The werewolf thing, when explained in detail, was a lot more than he had expected. Complicated wasn't even the word to use. 

“You actually kind of already have,” Scott admitted as he ate more popcorn and ignored the fight scene on the TV. They were on the third bowl. “You remember that time you traced a text for Stiles?” 

“Last year? Yeah...” 

“Well, Stiles told me about it. Because he's evil like that. His cousin Miguel isn't his cousin. That was Derek.” 

A whistle was Danny's response. “Dude, he was hot. And scary, but mostly hot.” 

“I honestly never even thought about that,” Scott noted. “I guess he is. I was kind of focused on nobody dying most of last year. Haven't seen much of him since summer break, to be honest. It never came up.” 

“A lot of you werewolf types are hot. I'm noticing a trend. I mean, when Erica got all boobilicious last year she told me I could play with them,” Danny said thoughtfully as Scott crunched the gel in his hair. 

“Did you?” 

Danny grinned as he reached out for the popcorn on the coffee table. “Of course. Who wouldn't? She had fantastic boobs.” 

It was nice. Yeah, the werewolf stuff was weird, but in theory Danny could handle it. And it was nice to have someone trust him with such important information. It wasn't like he stumbled on it. Scott told him. Not even his best friend Jackson told him what was happening. 

“My boobs are better,” Scott chuckled against Danny's scalp. Then he kissed the top of Danny's head and crossed his arms over Danny's chest. “I missed you.” 

“I missed you, too,” Danny sighed. “I had a freakout.” 

“An understandable one. I wasn't exactly innocent. I told Allison last week that if she wanted me back, I was hers. Now, though? I don't even miss her,” Scott lied. Danny didn't need to have the werewolf senses. He just knew. 

“Yes, you do. I'm your second choice. But I know that, and I'm okay with it. I think. And let's face it, Allison is probably never going to take you back so you're all mine now.” Danny wasn't nearly as comfortable as he was trying to let on, and he knew Scott could tell. “I'm the one time the consolation prize is better than the showcase, you know.” 

Neither boy had anything to say after that, so Danny just reclined as best he could into Scott's arms. They stayed like that and quietly watched the cartoon until Danny's parents came home.


	5. Chapter 5

“She really is never speaking to me again,” Scott said to Lydia as Allison walked past the both of them without looking in their direction.

“I don't know what you did, but I'm sure it was stupid. Now maybe we can go back to being popular and you can go back to being a nobody. The way nature intended,” Lydia replied as she walked away, calling for Allison to wait up.

Scott scratched his head and shrugged. If Allison wasn't telling anyone what happened, he wasn't pushing it. They would just be the exes that never talked to each other. Not that he blamed her. What he did was kind of awful. Really awful. As in Peter Hale would be proud of him.

“Hey,” Isaac greeted nervously as he walked up to Scott, breaking him out of his thoughts. “So, uh, I thought you should know I'm kind of maybe seeing Allison.”

“Okay,” Scott said with a dejected shrug. “Just try to make her happy, will you? I kind of did a terrible of that.”

Isaac laughed suspiciously as he took as step back from Scott. “I was kind of expecting you to be pissed off. She's, like, the love of your life.”

“Was,” Scott corrected as he stepped up to Isaac and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “She was. Not anymore.”

“Danny?”

“Not just him, but he's a big part of it. Look, I can't go into it, but just make sure she's okay. As a favour for me,” Scott requested before slapping Isaac on the shoulder again and walking away. It hurt to let Allison go. It hurt more than when she broke up with him.

TW

The next day, Stiles just stood and watched as everyone around him buzzed about with new and interesting lives. Scott was back together with Danny, Allison was apparently seeing Isaac or something, and Lydia was preying on every freshman in sight. Meanwhile, he was still where he always was. Something needed to change.

He pulled out his phone and dialled the last number he ever expected to. The voice on the other end of the line was deep and rough and annoyed. “What is it now, Stiles?”

“Do you have plans for tomorrow?”

“Sunday? No, why, what stupid thing have you done this time?”

“Nothing, I just thought maybe we could hang out or something,” Stiles said as he tried to open his locker. It was stuck and clearly wouldn't open. “You're single, I'm single...”

“And I'm hanging up.”

Okay, maybe following Scott's example and going gay wasn't going to work for Stiles. There were plenty of girls in Beacon Hills who would surely give him the time of day. After all, Erica was into him before she got all hot, and he'd finally moved on from Lydia. Why not check out the other fish in the pond?

“Hey, there,” he said flirtatiously to a girl walking by whose name he couldn't remember. She was in his math class, and he doubted it was a coincidence that she was at the mall the same time he was: fate and all that. “Are you free tonight? Wanna see a movie?”

For her part, she didn't laugh in his face and walk away. In fact, she seemed sort of intrigued. “You're on the lacrosse team, right?”

“Mostly warming the bench, but I did score three goals to win the final game of the season last year,” he bragged as he cocked his head and grinned. “And what do you do?”

“I do the yearbook. Lots of time on the computer,” she said as she smiled back. The girl held her hand out for Stiles. “I'm Andrea.”

“Stiles,” he replied as he took her hand and bowed. He looked up and saw that she was still smiling. “So, would you care to join me for a movie?”

“Sure. Chick flick or action movie?” Andrea wondered as she withdrew her hand from Stiles'. “I'm good either way.”

“I think I'm going to do the good first impressions thing and go with the chick flick.”

“As long as it doesn't have vampires or werewolves,” she said as she locked her arm with his. “I am so burnt out on supernatural drama.”

“We have so much in common,” Stiles agreed before walking into a support column.

TW

“So, your dad can't know you're dating a werewolf, even though he's not really doing the hunting thing anymore? Man, how would it go if we got serious and I proposed?” Isaac asked as he propped his head up with Allison's purse.

They were in a coffee shop, killing time before the next production of My Fair Lady began. Allison had bought the tickets, so Isaac offered to pay for the pre-show meal. Her company was quickly becoming his favourite part of the day. It was also growing increasingly obvious why Scott fell for her as hard as he had. Allison was a hell of a gal.

Her jokes were never funny, but people laughed at them ironically. It was doubtful that she knew that. Isaac found her bad jokes cute and laughed at them in the hopes that she would tell another one.

“So,” Isaac said in a teasing voice as he drank his espresso, “I should probably tell you Derek kind of knows about us.”

“Really?” Allison chose to use a controlled voice and instead express her emotions by crushing a sugar packet in her hand. “And what did Derek say? Wait, first, how did he find out? We've had one date.”

“Two, technically, counting now,” Isaac corrected as he leaned over the table and stared in Allison's eyes. “He smelled you on me. I tried to tell him it was from school, but apparently I was giving off mad pheromones or something. I guess he doesn't seem to mind too much. I'm just not allowed to bring you home. Ever. He's worried you'll kill him in his sleep or something.”

“I have considered it,” Allison admitted without a hint of amusement in her voice. Isaac's blood ran cold, but he didn't say anything. “This year is a fresh start, though. I did some horrible things. I think I'm the reason Erica and Boyd never came back. So you can tell Derek that I have no interest in killing him anymore. Or going 'home' with you.”

There was no response to that statement that Isaac could come up with that didn't make him sound like a tool. So instead of talking he kissed her. Kissing Allison was quickly becoming one of Isaac's favourite things to do, which was odd considering that just a few months before they had wanted to kill each other.

“Scott knows about us,” Isaac told Allison with a happy smile when they broke apart. Her face fell slightly, but his did not. “He sorta gave us his blessing. Which you don't need, since you're a powerful and independent woman and all, but he's not pissed or anything.”

“The last thing he should be is upset,” Allison sighed as she ran her hand through Isaac's hair. Then she wound her hand into his locks and pulled his head back. It wasn't enough to hurt, but it did make Isaac's grin grow even wider. “Now, where were we?”

TW

The last week had easily been one of the weirdest in Scott McCall's short life, and he hadn't even had to deal with werewolf problems for most of it. But he appreciated that, no matter how messy of an end it was, things with Allison were finally over. Whatever happened with her dad was less of a factor in his life than he could have expected. It seemed like what had started as a nightmare was ending on a bleak but not altogether awful note.

The only thing that needed to change was that Stiles needed to know. Scott never kept secrets from his best friend. Ever. And that wasn't about to change.

“Are you sure you want to tell him?” Danny asked as he rubbed Scott's shoulders and kissed the back of his neck. “I mean, it's your call, and I'll be there if you want me, but I maintain that it's a really bad idea.”

“Look at you, busting out the big words,” Scott laughed as he leaned back and looked up at Danny. “You know I appreciate your thoughts on this, but he deserves to know. He's like my brother, only I like him. When things go down, we turn to each other. He's helped me when nobody else cared.”

“Isn't that what I'm for?” Danny wondered as he kissed Scott's forehead. In reply, Scott rolled his eyes and lifted his head up so that he was once again staring straight ahead.

“It's different. You and I have, like, boundaries. We know what we can and can't say to each other. Or we're learning. Stiles and I don't have that. There's nothing we don't know about each other,” he explained with a moan as he relaxed into Danny's hands.

“Nothing?” Danny flirtatiously whispered in Scott's ear.

Fingers grasping at the sofa cushion as he closed his eyes, Scott murmured in the affirmative. Danny's hands left Scott's shoulders and his fingers traced a line down his sides and across his stomach before resting on his thighs.

“Then maybe it's time I finally teach you something about yourself that Stiles doesn't know.” Danny's voice was husky. He playfully chewed on Scott's earlobe. “When does your mom get home?”

“She's been home this whole time,” Melissa McCall called from the kitchen. “I parked in the garage because we're expecting rain, but thanks for noticing.”

“Oh, hi, Ms. McCall!” Danny shouted awkwardly as he jumped off the sofa and threw himself into a nearby recliner, leaving Scott to lose his balance and fall on the floor. Scott glared at his nervous boyfriend and picked himself up off the floor.

Walking into the living room, still wearing her work scrubs and brandishing a cup of coffee like a sword, Melissa McCall watched as Scott sat down on the sofa and gave her a death glare.

“Listen, I know you're teenagers and you'll have sex whether I tell you to or not, but just remember to use protection. Even if you can't get pregnant, you can still get diseases. Even from oral sex.”

“MOM!” Scott yelled as he ran over to Danny and put his hands over his ears. “Can we not do this now? We already had the safe sex talk.”

“Then stop trying to hook up while I'm in the house,” she giggled with a nod at the increasingly pale teenage boys. As she walked back into the kitchen, she stopped in the doorway and looked over her shoulder. “And Scott, you really should just come out to Stiles already. I'm sure he'll be fine with it.”

Scott, whose hands were still over Danny's ears, looked at his boyfriend and burst out laughing. Danny just gave him a raised eyebrow and a confused frown. The colour was returning to both their faces.

“And what did I miss?” Danny asked while pulling Scott's hands from his ears. “I heard the 'Mom' part, but nothing else.”

“She's thinks we were talking about coming out to Stiles. And that you're gonna give me STDs.”

“If anyone in this house has diseases, it's you,” Danny teased as he poked Scott in the side. “Look, did you still want to do this, any by this I don't mean having sex...”

“Thank you!” Scott's mom yelled from the kitchen.

“I mean talking to Stiles,” Danny clarified.

Scott nodded as he pulled out his phone and stared at it. “This is a really bad idea.”

“Which is what I've been telling you all night,” Danny reminded Scott as he kept his eyes locked on the doorway to the kitchen. “If we're gonna do this, let's do it at his place.”

“Yeah, because the sheriff is a much better person to overhear this than my mother,” Scott scoffed as his finger hovered over Stiles' contact info. “We need somewhere neutral. Where we won't know anyone.”

“You have some place in mind?”

TW

“Well, that explains why Allison went from being torn up over you to just plain hating you overnight,” Stiles nodded as he stared at the empty skating rink. The copy of the key he'd made when he had Boyd's set worked perfectly. “Man, Scott, you are a ho.”

“Hey!” Danny protested indignantly before Scott slapped a hand over his mouth.

“You're just mad that everyone wants me, and you can't get any,” Scott fired back as Danny tried to pry Scott's hand from his mouth.

Stiles snorted and a smile played at his lips. “Actually, I had a date tonight. With, like, an actual girl. Who wasn't Lydia.”

“Congrats!” Scott cheered as he let go of Danny and gave his best friend a high five. “Who is it? Do we know her?”

“Her name is Andrea. She goes to school with us and is on the newspaper or something. I'm seeing her again this Friday. I am such a boss.”

“That is so awesome,” Scott smiled as he put an arm Danny's shoulders. “Isn't that awesome?”

“Fantastic,” Danny muttered with an eyeroll. “We're not going to be double dating or anything any time soon, are we?”

“I would rather not scare her off by giving her the wrong impression,” Stiles admitted as he stood up and walked to the rink. He knelt by the ice and ran his hand along the edge. “I mean, she thinks I'm kinda cute and I don't need her to think I'm a loser like you guys.”

Scott looked at Danny and cocked an eyebrow, but neither refuted the nonsense Stiles was spewing. He likely wasn't being serious.

“It's fine,” Scott finally agreed when Stiles looked at them. “I have work Friday, anyway.”

“Um, guys, the whole dating thing is kind of the last of our problems,” Stiles said as he beckoned them over. He ran his hand over the ice and cleared off any loose shavings.

“Is that what I think it is?” Danny asked as he backed away from Scott and Danny.

“If you think it's a dead body trapped under the ice, then you would be correct,” Stiles answered sarcastically as he pulled out his phone. “Scott, I'm calling Derek.”

“Why are you calling him?” Danny was shaking and Scott went to his side and tried to calm him down.

“Well, Derek is an Alpha and, unless I'm mistaken, we just found his zombie uncle under two solid inches of ice. So there is that.”

Scott tried his best to comfort Danny as he wondered just what fresh hell his life was about to become.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, this is the final chapter of the fic. It was a slice of life story, and I wanted to end on a "life goes on" cliffhanger or whatever. I hope you guys enjoyed it!


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